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For years, Chuckie Keeton, Ammon Olsen and Travis Wilson have called Utah colleges home as they’ve advanced their football careers.
Now the trio will each have their shot to impress NFL teams this weekend in hopes of earning a free-agent contract as rookie mini-camps open around the league.
Utah State’s Keeton is headed to his hometown Houston Texans for a tryout, while Utah’s Wilson and Southern Utah’s Olsen will be doing the same with the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
Here’s a look at the situation for each of the three quarterbacks with Utah ties, and what needs to happen for them to find a spot on an NFL roster.
Chuckie Keeton, Utah State
6-foot-2, 210 pounds
Tryout with Houston Texans
Quarterbacks currently on Texans roster: Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage, Brandon Weeden
The situation: Keeton's pro prospects have taken a big hit from injuries in the past few years. At one point, Keeton's pro stock was on the rise, as he had 3,373 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions (with a 67.6 percent completion rate) to go along with 618 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in his lone college season not marred by injury in 2012. Keeton then had 18 touchdown passes to just two interceptions in six games in 2013, but an ACL and MCL tear in his left knee against BYU ended his year.
That started a string of injuries that plagued his final three college seasons. Keeton showed flashes of his dual-threat skills during his senior season in 2015, yet finished with 1,006 passing yards, four touchdown passes and seven interceptions in five starts.
Keeton, who prepped at Cypress Creek High in Houston, participated in a Texans local prospect workout in April. The rookie free-agent scene is a fluid situation, but Houston did not sign any undrafted free-agent quarterbacks, according to the Houston Chronicle (the team has yet to officially announce its signings), did not draft a quarterback, and no news has surfaced of any other quarterbacks trying out in Houston this weekend.
Osweiler is expected to be the starter in Houston after signing a four-year deal this offseason as a free agent following four years in Denver. Weeden has started 25 games in his four-year career and is the veteran backup. Savage — a fourth-round draft pick by the Texans in 2014 — has played in two regular-season games, completing 10 of 19 passes for 127 yards and an interception, and spent the 2015 season on injured reserve with a severe shoulder strain.
To find a spot on the roster come the regular season, most likely as a practice squad member, Keeton will need to jump to third on the depth chart. That would mean supplanting Savage during training camp, if Keeton signs after this weekend. In order to earn a contract, Keeton will need to show that the skills that made him a respected college quarterback — an accurate arm and the ability to effectively scramble — are still in place and enough to overcome his injury history.
Ammon Olsen, Southern Utah
6-foot-4, 225 pounds
Tryout with Indianapolis Colts
Quarterbacks currently on Colts roster: Andrew Luck, Stephen Morris, Scott Tolzien
The situation: Olsen's agent confirmed the tryout in Indianapolis and he should be given plenty of reps to earn a contract. The Alta High product and BYU transfer capped his Southern Utah career with 3,344 passing yards in 2015 along with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The two-year college starter worked out at both BYU's and SUU's Pro Days for scouts.
The Colts did not sign any quarterbacks among the 21 players they brought in via free-agent deals, and they did not draft a signal caller. But Massachusetts quarterback Blake Frohnapfel and the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson (a well-known NFL insider) confirmed Frohnapfel will also be in Indianapolis for a tryout, providing Olsen some competition at Colts camp.
Luck is the established starter for Indianapolis; the three-time Pro Bowler and No. 1 overall pick in 2012 missed nine games last season due to injuries. Tolzien is the likely backup as a six-year veteran; he joined the Colts as a free agent in March and started his pro career as an undrafted free agent. Morris, too, went undrafted in 2014 and has bounced around the NFL; he signed to the Indianapolis active roster off Philadelphia's practice squad in December 2015.
Olsen does has some added advantage in his fight to earn a free-agent contract. He worked with former NFL MVP Kurt Warner through QB Elite, a quarterback and wide receiver development program founded in 2009 by first-year BYU offensive coordinator Ty Detmer and Dustin Smith. The knowledge passed on by Warner could give him an edge in preparing for the pros. He'll need to outshine Frohnapfel this weekend and hope that his performance is good enough for a contract, then see what develops in training camp if he makes it that far.
Travis Wilson, Utah
6-foot-7, 233 pounds
Tryout with Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterbacks currently on Bengals roster: Andy Dalton, AJ McCarron, Keith Wenning
The situation: Wilson was a four-year starter at Utah and capped his college career with 7,403 passing yards, 54 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He also could do damage on the ground, rushing for 1,224 career yards and 21 touchdowns. Wilson participated in this year's NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, where he was coached by former NFL head man and former BYU assistant Mike Holmgren.
Wilson will be competing with another rookie quarterback at mini-camp. The team signed Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson to a free-agent contract, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer (the team has yet to announce any official undrafted free-agent signings) but didn't draft a quarterback. Johnson had a standout career at Bowling Green and threw for 4,946 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2015 — both second-best in the country — in the Falcons' pass-heavy offense. Pro Football Focus called him the "best developmental quarterback" in this year's draft class.
Dalton, who had his best pro season in 2015, sits atop the depth chart at quarterback for the Bengals. He's started every game he's played for Cincinnati since it drafted him in the second round in 2011. McCarron was a fifth-round selection by the Bengals in the 2014 draft and started four games — one in the postseaon — in relief of Dalton, who suffered a fractured thumb in December. Wenning, headed into his second NFL season, served as backup to McCarron when Dalton went down last year, but he never played a down.
Following the draft, Wilson's agent said he feels the former Utah quarterback has a strong chance to earn the No. 3 spot on the Bengals' depth chart behind Dalton and McCarron. He'll need to be accurate and precise in decision-making to outperform Johnson at mini-camp in what is arguably the toughest rookie mini-camp battle for the local prospects. If he can do that and sign a free-agent contract, Wilson can then focus on improving his status on the depth chart in preparation for the season.
Other Utah ties with tryouts
In addition to the three quarterbacks, five other Utah college players received invites to try out for NFL teams this weekend. They include:
Graham Rowley, DE, BYU (with Green Bay)
Terenn Houk, TE/WR, BYU (with San Francisco, also with Chicago next weekend if he doesn't sign with 49ers)
Gionni Paul, LB, Utah (with Cincinnati)
Kenneth Scott, WR, Utah (with Los Angeles)
Brock Miller, P, Southern Utah (with Indianapolis)
Jordan Nielsen, DE, Utah State (with Arizona)
Email: bjudd@deseretdigital.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd